Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna | |
---|---|
Eskilstuna River and Gamla Stan (Old Town) | |
Eskilstuna | |
Coordinates: 59°21′59″N 16°30′30″E / 59.36639°N 16.50833°ECoordinates: 59°21′59″N 16°30′30″E / 59.36639°N 16.50833°E | |
Country | Sweden |
Province | Södermanland |
County | Södermanland County |
Municipality | Eskilstuna Municipality |
Founded | 1659 |
Area[1] | |
• Total | 31.05 km2 (11.99 sq mi) |
Elevation | 26 m (85 ft) |
Population (31 December 2010)[1] | |
• Total | 64,679 |
• Density | 2,083/km2 (5,390/sq mi) |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Postal code | 630 03 to 638 21 |
Area code(s) | (+46) 16 |
Website | Official website |
Eskilstuna (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɛskils.ˈtʉːna]) is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 97 692 inhabitants in 2012.[1] Eskilstuna has a large Sweden Finn population.[2] The town is located on the River Eskilstunaån, which connects Lake Hjälmaren and Lake Mälaren.
History
The city grew enormously during the Industrial Revolution and became one of the most important industrial cities of Sweden, earning the nickname "Stålstaden" ("The City of Steel"). Aside from firearms, the city also produced cutlery, scissors, keys, machine tools and precision instruments. As a tribute to the steel industry, the figure of a steel worker is included in the city's coat of arms. Eskilstuna is sometimes called The Sheffield of Sweden, Sheffield being a (much larger) industrial city famous for the quality (and quantity) of the steel produced there. Both cities at their peak were home to numerous different companies involved in steel production.
Eskilstuna remains an important industrial city with internationally known companies such as Volvo Wheel loaders, main site for the heavy construction equipment division of Volvo, Assa (locks, keys), and Stainless steel manufacturer Outokumpu, Thin Strip Nyby in Torshälla.
The modern co-establishment of the Mälardalen University (Mälardalens högskola) together with the twice as large neighbouring city of Västerås, has also given Eskilstuna an academic touch. The city also has a combined zoo and amusement park - Parken Zoo.
Climate
Climate data for Eskilstuna | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 8 (46) |
10 (50) |
19 (66) |
23 (73) |
27 (81) |
32 (90) |
35 (95) |
33 (91) |
27 (81) |
21 (70) |
15 (59) |
10 (50) |
35 (95) |
Average high °C (°F) | −2 (28) |
−1 (30) |
2 (36) |
10 (50) |
15 (59) |
20 (68) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
14 (57) |
8 (46) |
4 (39) |
−1 (30) |
10 (50) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −4 (25) |
−3 (27) |
−1 (30) |
6 (43) |
10 (50) |
14 (57) |
18 (64) |
16 (61) |
11 (52) |
5 (41) |
2 (36) |
−3 (27) |
6 (43) |
Average low °C (°F) | −6 (21) |
−7 (19) |
−3 (27) |
3 (37) |
6 (43) |
10 (50) |
15 (59) |
13 (55) |
8 (46) |
3 (37) |
0 (32) |
−5 (23) |
4 (39) |
Record low °C (°F) | −37 (−35) |
−27 (−17) |
−20 (−4) |
−12 (10) |
−6 (21) |
−1 (30) |
5 (41) |
3 (37) |
−1 (30) |
−13 (9) |
−23 (−9) |
−30 (−22) |
−37 (−35) |
Source #1: SMHI | |||||||||||||
Source #2: Swedish Wikipedia |
Sport
The most successful sports clubs of the city are the Smederna Speedway motorcycle racing club, which had to withdraw from the top league due to bankruptcy in 2009, and the still very successful handball club GUIF, which remains in the top division.
Eskilstuna is also home to EFK (Eskilstuna Flygklubb), Sweden's largest glider Flying Club which hosted the World Gliding Championships in 2006.
The stadium Tunavallen was a venue for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, hosting one match between Paraguay and Yugoslavia. It has also been used for several practice games for the Swedish National Youth Teams. Sports clubs using Tunavallen include Eskilstuna City FK and IFK Eskilstuna. Eskilstuna Södra FF are based at Skogsängens IP and BK Sport is based at Ekhagen.
Transport
Eskilstuna is served by the Svealandsbanan railway line between Stockholm and Hallsberg. European route E20 also passes the city. The city also has an airport, 13 km (8 mi) east of the centre.
European Cooperation
- Eskilstuna is a member city of Eurotowns network[3]
Notable natives
In the arts, Eskilstuna has been home to ABBA's Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Other musicians from the town include singer Towa Carson & drummer Mika "Gas" Karppinen. Pianist David Wenngren, aka Library Tapes and electronic musician and composer Robert Bush also hails from Eskilstuna.
A number of sportspeople originate from Eskilstuna, including footballers Sebastian Larsson, Kennet Andersson and Mika Väyrynen, tennis player Kent Carlsson, motorcyclist Tommy Jansson, table-tennis player Kjell Johansson, speed-skater Tomas Gustafson, bowler Robert Andersson and golfer Anna Nordqvist
Anna of Finland, royal sister of the monarch of Poland, Sweden and Lithuania, Sigismund III Vasa, was from Eskilstuna, as is linguist Fredrik Lindström and former Miss Universe Yvonne Ryding.
The Swedish Industrialist Carl Victor Heljestrand was born in, lived and worked in Eskilstuna for most of his life.
The rock bands Kent and Hel were both founded in Eskilstuna.
Progressive metal band, Pain of Salvation, was founded in Eskilstuna.
psychobilly band PitbullFarm hails from Eskilstuna.
Twin towns - Sister cities
Eskilstuna is twinned with:[4]
- Bridgeton, New Jersey, United States
- Erlangen, Germany
- Esbjerg, Denmark
- Fjarðabyggð, Iceland
- Gatchina, Russia
- Haapsalu, Estonia
- Jūrmala, Latvia
- Jyväskylä, Finland
- Linyi, China
- Luton, United Kingdom
- Lviv, Ukraine
- Mysore, India
- Stavanger, Norway
- Usangi, Tanzania
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ↑ http://www.rskl.se/Ruotsinsuomalaiset.html
- ↑ "Eurotowns".
- ↑ Eskilstuna kommun - Internationellt - Vänorter
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eskilstuna. |
- Eskilstuna - Official site (in Swedish, French, German, English and Finnish)
- Tågtider för Eskilstuna C
See also
|
|
|
|